Let's Scare Julie (2020)

Interesting facts

Let's Scare Julie is a 2020 American experimental low budget horror film written and directed by Jud Cremata in his feature directorial debut. It stars Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Isabel May and Odessa A'zion. It was filmed in real time.

Production

Writer and director Jud Cremata said he did not find splatter films frightening: "What I am frightened by is the unknown. It's not what's in the closet that's scary – it's the idea of what's in the closet." He concocted a slow wind-up story around this concept.

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and Josh Becker's Running Time which were edited to appear as a one-shot, Cremata envisioned filming an actual one-shot similar to Sebastian Schipper's Victoria as a tool for cinematic tension. "There is no looking away, and in some ways that mimics our reality," he said.

In July 2018, Isabel May was announced to have joined the cast of the indie thriller. The plan was to shoot the film in one continuous uncut shot, using the script as a blueprint from which performers would improvise, giving the film a gritty, realistic feel.

Casting director Emily Schweber helped the director in the search for a teenaged ensemble cast as well as a 7-year-old actor, all comfortable with the feature-length improvisation the film would require.

With limited time for rehearsals, the cast and crew shot an entire film on each of four consecutive nights. "Every night I would go home and rewrite the parts that weren't working as well," Cremata said, "and every day we would come back and rehearse those revised scenes." The fourth night's film was chosen to be released as the final 82-minute film.

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